Everyone believes that addressing South Africa’s consistently high unemployment rate demands bold and “out of the box” thinking, including a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship among local young and new graduates. The Financial Sectors Conduct Authority (FSCA) recently held a webinar in which they emphasised the need of providing entrepreneurs with the required information and support for beginning lawful enterprises. The webinar talks covered registering with the appropriate government agencies and obtaining help on finance and company management in order to build long-term enterprises.
While establishing a business might be a frightening concept for ambitious entrepreneurs, the webinar emphasised the need of finding new ways to eliminate unemployment. The panellists observed that South Africa now has an extraordinarily high young unemployment rate of 59.6% (Statista.com, Q3:2022), a statistic they thought was excessive and should be addressed immediately.
While launching a new firm is only the beginning, it is equally crucial to ensure that it is durable, sustainable, and expands from year to year. Maintaining a business requires the entrepreneur to maintain their business and personal money management separate. This, for example, means resisting the impulse to buy extravagant houses or automobiles right away. Reinvest in your company instead to boost its worth and secure future development. This is when financial literacy comes into play.
According to the FSCA’s Financial Literacy Baseline Survey (2020), the total financial literacy score among South Africans was 52 points, a worrying trend given that it has declined by three points from 2015 owing to a variety of economic problems. With different educational outreach programmes, the FSCA strives to solve this by delivering financial education programmes to all financial and potential financial clients, including small firms and budding entrepreneurs. As a result, the webinar programme was launched as part of a larger Business Week promotion for 2023.
The advertisement specifically targeted young people, budding entrepreneurs, new graduates, and matriculants. It aimed to provide them with information on registering their enterprises and assuring compliance with all authorities, including the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and the South African Tax Service (SARS). It also discussed company finance advice and gave the audience a chance to connect with panellists from other organisations. Almost 100 individuals attended the webinar, including persons with impairments, the blind, and the partially sighted.
Additional subjects covered included developing a business strategy and promoting the company to increase profitability, obtaining business capital, and complying with tax laws.
A panel of speakers from CIPC, SARS, the Small Business Development Agency (SEDA), and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) provided guidance on the various topics.
The FSCA recognised that launching a new business may be difficult and dangerous. The webinar’s overarching subject was that entrepreneurs should seek advice from experts, consultants, and government agencies entrusted with directing enterprises.
To encourage financial resilience amongst households and SMME’s, the FSCA through its Consumer Education Department (CED) promotes financial education programmes. The CED caters for all South Africans who are planning and setting financial goals and can be accessed by emailing CED.Consumer@fsca.co.za or visiting their dedicated consumer financial education website, www.fscamymoney.co.za